Foot corrective appliance



Aug. 8, 1950 w. LUCAS FOOT CORRECTIVE APPLIANCE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledMay 1, 1947 W. LUCAS FOOT CORRECTIVE APPLIANCE Aug. 8, 1950 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 1, 1947 Patented Aug. 8, 1950 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 2,518,033 roo'r oonnnc'rrvrz APPLIANCE WilbertLucas,Detroit, Mich.

Application May I, 1947, SerialNo. 745,197

2 Ulaims.

- The present invention relates to foot supports and foot correctivedevices, and has particular reference to an improved construction for anadjustable arch support.

The principal object of the'invention is to providean arch support whichis adjustable to the foot for providing proper support to the mainlongitudinal arch.

Another object of the invention is to provide the arch support with anadjustable support for the transvers metatarsal arch.

A further object of the invention is to'provide an adjustable correctivearch support of simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantageous features in view, theinvention consists of a novel arrangement of parts more fully disclosedin the detailed description following, in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, and more specifically defined in the claimsappended thereto.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the novel arch support;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan View thereof;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the transverse metatarsal supportelement;

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view of the laminated longitudinal arch supportelement; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the cushion heel element.

It has been found advisable to provide an improved resilient archsupport and corrective device which may be adapted to fit any one of anumber of foot sizes and which may be adjusted to compensate forabnormal and functional foot conditions, and may be readily altered fromtime to time for maximum foot comfort. To this end, I utilize alaminated spring element which may be built up to fit the contour of thelongitudinal arch and uphold the arch in its natural position, and Iprovide a molded element which is inserted in a pocket in the archsupport to provide proper support for the metatarsal arch. I preferablyform the molded metatarsal support element and the heel element of thearch support with knurled rubber bases, and the upper surface of thearch support with leather, covered with a soft surfacing such as chamoisskin or lambskin, and I preferably ventilate the metatarsal end and theheel end with perforations, whereby a very comfortable foot fittingsupport results.

Referring to the drawings, the improved arch support 26 includes a bodyportion 2| which has a forward metatarsal support section 22, anintermediate longitudinal arch support section 23, and a heel section24. The upper surface of the body portion is provided with ashapedleather top 25, and the lowersurface has a canvas or fabriccovering 26, cut as hereinafter described. The metatarsal supportsection has an additional layer of chamois or lambs wool 21, and theintermediate section also has a similar additional layer 28, to addheight and yielding. resilience to these areas. I

The metatarsal support section '22 includes a resilient rubber insert 29of selected height,

shaped as illustrated, which is inserted in a re-.

cess 30 in the lower surface and is held in place over a, cross flap orsection 3| of the lower surface covering 26 by means of a snap fastener32 which releasably engages a cooperating snap socket 33 in the recess30, see Fig. 4. The bottom of the rubber insert 29 is knurled asindicated at 34, see Fig. 3, and cooperates with a circular heel pad 35which is cemented in a recess 36 in the lower portion of the heelsection 24, the cloth covering 26 covering its edges, and the undersurface being scored as indicated by the reference numeral 31, wherebythe two inserts provide gripping elements which hold the arch support inplace in the shoe. The heel pad is preferably provided with an extension38, see Fig. 3, which is seated in a suitable recess 39 in the heelsection and extends forwardly along the outer edge to the intermediatesection to provide a firm support for the rear outer portion of thefoot.

The intermediate longitudinal arch support section 23 is provided with alaminated support element 40, which is formed of a selected number ofgenerally similar resilient metal plates 4| each having a narrow base 42slightly flared and an enlarged, outwardly flaring curved head 43. Theplates 4| are graduated in size, as illustrated, the bases being of thesame size and the heads being of progressively larger size, whereby thenumber of plates and their size may be selected to obtain a desiredlongitudinal and tarsus arch lift.

verse slots 45 which receive a rivet 46 secured in the intermediatesection 23, whereby comfort and resilience are increased, andventilation perforations 49, 50 are respectively provided at themetatarsal section 22 and the heel section 24 to provide comfort andcoolness.

It is thus clear that a simple arch support is provided, whichresiliently and comfortably supports the foot, and which is adjustableto exactly conform to the requirements of the individual wearer.Although I have described a specific embodiment of the invention,changes in the size, shape, material and arrangement of the parts may bemade to obtain different supporting and corrective efiects, withoutdeparting from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined inthe appended claims.

, I claim:

1. An arch support comprising a metatarsal support section, a heelsection and an intermediate longitudinal arch support section, saidintermediate section having a laminated resilient support elementsecured thereto, said support element including a plurality of metalplates each having a base portion locked to the intermediate outersection edge, and a head portion extending toward and overlying theintermediate section inner edge, said head portions being progressivelygraduated in size and having aligned transverse slots, and a lockelement secured to the intermediate section and extending through thealigned slots, whereby the metal plates have limited lateral movement asthe pressure on the arch support changes.

2. An arch support comprising a metatarsal support section, a heelsection and an intermediate longitudinal arch support section, saidintermediate section having a laminated resilient support elementsecured thereto, said support element including a plurality of metalplates each having a base portion locked to the intermediate outersection edge, and a head portion extending toward and overlying theintermediate section inner edge, said head portions being progressivelygraduated in size, and said head portions and said intermediate sectionhaving cooperating parts locking the head portions against longitudinalmovement but permitting limited lateral movement with respect to theintermediate section.

WILBERT LUCAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain June 2, 1927

